Author Archives: Philippe Stengel

By Philippe Stengel and Max Taylor Before we start, we just want to say a big thank you to Victor Renaud (@victorrenaud5) for creating a graphic for the piece and Twenty3 (@twenty3sport) for allowing us to use two of theirs. Both create really insightful data visuals, and we highly encourage you to check out moreContinue reading “Ollie Watkins is quite good, isn’t he?”

Just over half a year ago, Thiago Alcantara was rightfully hailed as one of the game’s finest technicians, playing for Europe’s best team. With his contract running out, the Spaniard then decided to leave Bavaria behind and take on a new challenge, in order to “develop himself as a player.” At the time, swapping theContinue reading “Thiago and Liverpool: this was supposed to be perfect…”

By Philippe Stengel and Max Taylor Football is a simple game. Silverware-winning sides have a multitude of players that contribute to their success, struggling sides don’t, and on the rare occasion, a team can attribute a large portion of their accomplishments to a single individual — a one-man-team, a carry job, a Jack Grealish atContinue reading “Rodrigo De Paul: A Scouting Report”

Profile A player who was once touted as one of the next best English midfielders, Ruben Loftus-Cheek has had awful luck with injuries in the first few years of his career. Despite a largely positive spell at Crystal Palace in 2017/18 and a promising breakthrough at Chelsea in 2018/19, the 24-year-old still has never managedContinue reading “Ruben Loftus-Cheek: A Scouting Report”

When 17-year-old Jadon Sancho left Man City for Borussia Dortmund in 2017, it was viewed as an immensely brave move; a leap of faith not generally made by English youngsters. In the three years since, however, it’s become clear that Sancho truly paved the way for this movement. Over the last few seasons, a flurryContinue reading “Noni Madueke: A Scouting Report”

An £8m release clause, the Championship’s assist leader, and already an integral member of high-flying Reading, it’s easy to see why 19-year-old Michael Olise is garnering so much attention. In this report, we identify what exactly makes the youngster such an exciting prospect. Olise is a French-born attacking midfielder, and was picked up by ReadingContinue reading “Michael Olise: A Scouting Report”

By Dominic Wells This year’s “Golden Boy” was awarded to Norwegian superstar, Erling Haaland, the poster boy of Scandinavia’s rising talents. A lot of clubs in Europe have started to utilise the region, and for good reason, as the combination of quality youngsters for affordable prices is very alluring. Some of the higher profile casesContinue reading “Andreas Skov Olsen: Denmark’s Own”

Much of the talk about big money purchases this summer has mainly revolved around Premier League clubs. Deals for Kai Havertz and Thiago Alcantara are widely perceived as coveted captures, as they (and others) have drastically improved the quality of the Premier League. However, in the midst of the chaos in the covid-impacted transfer window,Continue reading “Achraf Hakimi: The €40 Million Bargain”

After three years in Rome, Cengiz Ünder has traded the Italian capital for Leicester and the project Brendan Rodgers is currently in charge of. With the Turkish-international’s profile (a right-footed left-winger) matching a previous star for the Foxes, the comparisons have already begun between the two players – with Ünder yet to even kick aContinue reading “Cengiz Ünder: Rodgers’ Newest Weapon”